Classic Car Restoration - Resto Roundup

Bob Perkins

July 1, 2002

Show Us Your Autolite!Roger, that! This interesting pair of radios came to us from Dean Hemphill of Lake Dallas, Texas. While these are not car accessories in the truest sense, they are from Ford. These Citizen Band radios are preset to channel 14 and are powered by a 9-volt battery. These two were built in November 1967 and carry the part number RW14BK. There is no standard Ford part number.

Q ShipI own a '73 Mustang Grande with only 39,000 miles. The car has a Q code 351 Cleveland with a factory four-speed. I am preparing to do some restoration work and have some questions:1.I am having the engine rebuilt to factory specs. I want to paint the engine compartment. Did Ford use a high-gloss or semi-gloss metallic black paint?

2 Did the Grande come with any decals?

3. I noted that in some pictures, the '73s had black paint on the hood. Was this applicable to the Grande model? If so, was it flat black or gloss paint?

4. I want to keep the ignition looking original but am considering the Petronix conversion kit. What do you think?

5. I'm replacing the original carb with a Holley 650 double pumper. That is the only non-original work I'm doing. What do you think?Gerry SchlisselPlainview, NY

The correct finish on the engine compartment is semi-gloss Black. The '73 Grande did not have any unique exterior decals on the body, but did have "Grande" script on the "C" pillar.

The two-tone hood option was available only with NASA-type hood. The black was low gloss on NASA hood if applicable.

The Petronix ignition conversion is good for an upgrade on the distribution. I would use the original carb rather than the 650 Holley. The original carb will work well if a properly tuned Pony Carburetor can handle this for you. The Q-code engine makes your Grande a rather rare Mustang. I would try to keep it as original as possible.

Brace YourselfI have a '70 Mach I Mustang Cleveland with Shaker option. I'm currently detailing the engine bay and have a question on the color of the export braces. Most of them are semi-gloss black, however, I've observed that some are a dark gray color. What is correct? Did it vary by assembly plant? Also, is the export brace different for a Boss 302 than my 351C? I've seen some with an extra brace on them where they bolt to the cowl.Steve YoungSun Prairie, WI

The export brace used on the Boss 302, 428 CJ, and '70 cars with air conditioning used the C9ZZ-16052-A style brace with the reinforcement at cowl. The standard brace C5ZZ-16052-A was used on other Mustangs, '65-'68, and standard '69-'70 Mustangs. However, it's not uncommon to see the C9ZZ brace on standard '69-'70 Mustangs.

The color of the export braces is semi-gloss black for cars built at the Metuchen, New Jersey, plant-code T-and San Jose, California-code R. The Dearborn-built Mustangs used the dark gray on the export brace, hood latch support, and grille support for 1970.

Rev It Up, Baby!I have a couple of questions concerning my '70 Boss 302. My rev limiter has the standard printing on the cover Autolite 6150 rpm. It also has 6950 stamped in ink in the upper right corner. What does this mean? Is it a date code?

Also, are the rear window louvers painted semi-gloss black or the low-gloss texture like the decklid? What finish should the rear window mouldings be, texture or semi-gloss black?Vince MioduszewskiRenton, WA

Good questions. The 6950 is indeed a date code the 50th week of 1969. All '70 rev limiters should have a date code along with the other standard information stamped on the cover.

The rear window louvers are low-gloss black, no texture. The rear window mouldings, however, are low-gloss black with texture.

For 1970, all black on the exterior is textured except the shaker trim ring, rear louvers, and taillamp bezels.

Okeedokee! I am e-mailing you to see about getting a diagram for the "OK" stamp on the valve cover of my '69 Mach 1 428 CJ, left-side valve cover. I read an article in Mustang Monthly where you helped somebody else out with this. If you do have the time, I can be reached at the Ford dealer parts department where I work or you can e-mail. I don't have a problem paying for this info so I can get a stamp made. Tony